It’s a new day for Brazil’s Black Feather Fuzz, who trace their origins back 15 years to 2011 and tomorrow release their five-song EP, Fuzzy Catharsis, as their first outing under a new name. It’s pretty close to their own moniker, which was Black Feather Klan — and surely the cultural connotations of starting ‘clan’ with a ‘k’ are different in Brazil than in the very-white-supremacist US, but still, the change makes sense — but distant enough to avoid the racist-shitbag association altogether as they reach out toward an international audience.

The 23 minutes of marterial across Fuzzy Catharsis indeed has some hair on its tone, but it’s perhaps less just about fuzz than one might think given the title and the band’s moniker. Guitarist Pedro “Zé” Barros harnesses a crunch in “Less Than a Shadow” that establishes the heft toward which bassist Rubens “Grilão” da Trindade also adds, nestling into a start-stop groove near the opener’s midpoint as a setup for the slow-wah solo layered in while drummer Thiago Fernandes holds the line on groove and vocalist Cristiano “Nibal” Soares takes the break he’s earned layering in clean and harsh vocals. The latter lend a spirit of confrontation to the outing, and that doesn’t go away as the procession leads into the death-growls of “Liar, Fire…” later on, and the release accordingly ends up somewhere between heavy rock and metal, not the first to ride the line but doing so with particular glee and the confidence of experience behind them.

That’s not to say there’s no chaos. Second cut “All the Space You Can Take,” in its very first few seconds before it smoothes out into the verse, teases the blowout with which it will end off, pushing into a dense and abrasive wash of overmodulated static distortion, still with the vocals cutting through, but sounding as though the instrumental levels were pushed to the top of the board. This is about as willfully unpleasant a Black Feather Fuzz get — and I’d argue that moment is more ‘extreme’ even than the aforementioned growls that follow shortly — but the thread of in-your-faceness continues into the patterned double-kick and concurrent shove of “Sentinel,” which is both the centerpiece and the shortest cut on the EP, resolving with a hardcore-born chug that’s righteously raw as it moves into its cold stop, letting the low-end rumble of “Liar, Fire…” lumber out the penultimate song’s threatening atmosphere even before the vocal gnash begins. It’s a standout moment, obviously, and feels a bit like what the the EP to that point has been driving toward — a crescendo of sorts — as the band employs doomly slowdowns and very, very heavy tones toward somewhat theatrical ends.

Does that make “Balm as Refuge” an afterthought? I’d argue not, since what the closer does in terms of reorienting the final impression Fuzzy Catharsis makes toward heavy rock and roll from the grimly crushing mire of the piece before it. That decision of how to leave off feels purposeful, and is executed successfully, the band’s maturity displayed in both the choice and the apparent ease with which they make it happen. It’s not finishing on a light note by any means, but the cleaner basstone in the second half break and the funky drums accompanying feel a good distance removed from the depths of “Liar, Fire…” and helps reaffirm how far Black Feather Fuzz have gone in a relatively short span of time. Going back to the start, it is a complement to “Less Than a Shadow,” but that song also does the work of setting up the scope of the EP, so there’s more happening than just that one conversation in the material.

Fuzzy Catharsis offers more of the latter than the former, but still feels like the work of a band who know what they’re about in terms of impact and aesthetic, and while definitely a studio work, it has enough energy to make one believe Black Feather Fuzz bring it live, which they probably do.

You’ll find the EP streaming in full on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire. Please enjoy:

Black Feather Fuzz, Fuzzy Catharsis EP

On August 21st, the Bruxa Verde has the great pleasure of streaming “Fuzzy Catharsis”, new EP from the stoner/doom metal quartet @blackfeatherfuzz

Originally Black Feather Klan (or just BFK) the group enters a new phase, with a new name but with the same quality and sound density as ever. Raw riffs, heavy psychedelic passages, viscerality and energy, that explode in their cathartic performances.

“Fuzzy Catharsis” brings five tracks from the band in a massive outfit, inspired by names like Red Fang, Clutch, Kyuss and Black Sabbath.

The production, recording and mixing work was done by Manfredo Savassi (also responsible for mastering) and the band itself, and the EP cover was taken care of Tim Tatoo Blackhorseman and Rogério Castro.

“Fuzzy Catharsis” tracklisting:
1. Less than a shadow
2. All the space you can take
3. Sentinel
4. Liar, fire
5. Balm as Refuge (Marla Calazans backing vocal)

Composição: todos Letra: Cristiano Soares

BANDA:
Cristiano “Nibal” Soares – vocal
Pedro “Zé” Barros – guitarra
Rubens “Grilão” da Trindade – baixo
Thiago Fernandes – bateria

Black Feather Fuzz Linktr.ee

Black Feather Fuzz on Bandcamp

Black Feather Fuzz on Instagram

Tags: Belo Horizonte, Black Feather Fuzz, Black Feather Fuzz Fuzzy Catharsis, Brazil, Fuzzy Catharsis

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2026 at 10:29 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.